Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Katie Shipley.
Hi Dr. Katie. So excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I graduated from PT school in 2009 from Rockhurst University. I always knew I wanted to work in pediatrics, but I wanted to start with adults while I got my bearings as a Physical Therapist. For 5 years, I worked in various settings, including: the inpatient setting at several KC area hospitals, travelling PT at skilled nursing facilities in Texas and California, a short time in an outpatient setting, and 9 months in a residency program training in Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation. I spent these 5 years mostly soaking up the neurology-based side of PT. I loved helping people rehab after strokes, brain injuries, etc. The brain is amazing! My love for the brain has carried over into a lot of the work I do with babies as well. In 2014, I started working for Children’s Mercy Hospital. While here, I worked for a short time in the outpatient setting and as needed in the Amplified Pain Program. Most of my time, however, was spent treating kids on the inpatient side of the hospital (rehab, ICU, NICU, ortho, oncology, etc.). During my last few years at Children’s Mercy, I spent as much time in the NICU as possible. I found so much joy in treating babies- from the itty bitty babies to the older babies who had tracheostomies and were on ventilators and everything in between. I loved this job and my amazing co-workers, but the work/life/Mom balance was challenging. During this time, I lowered my hours at Children’s Mercy and started working with Well Bellies and Babies, continuing to work on development, torticollis, etc., all in their home environment. I found a deep love for this as well.
Over the past 13.5 years as a Physical Therapist, I’ve done a lot of training, including Myofascial Release (MFR), Craniosacral Therapy (CST), Craniosacral Fascial Therapy (CFT), Pre/Postnatal Yoga Training, 200 hours of Yoga Teacher Training and Kids Yoga Teacher Training. I’m fascinated by how the body works and how it has the power to help heal itself when given the right tools. I’m also a big advocate for learning to listen to our bodies and what we feel is best for ourselves- especially regarding birth and babies. In 2021, I started my practice, Nurturing Touch Physical Therapy and Wellness, LLC, to help continue to follow my passions and dreams.
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Not a smooth road, but it’s one of a lot of learning; I’m still learning so much all the time. We don’t learn a lot about the business side of a physical therapy business in PT school, so that has been a huge growth curve for me. My natural passion is for treating patients- not so much running a business-so I’ve had to find ways to push myself into that side. But when I learn something new about the business or successfully create something new (a spreadsheet, a social media post on Canva, etc.), I’m pretty proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and figuring it out.
Another challenge has been finding ways to explain why I’m only private pay to families who want to use insurance. For many reasons, insurance isn’t a good fit for my business- and I wouldn’t be able to stay in business if I took insurance. Sometimes private pay is a deal breaker for families, which I understand entirely, but I’ve been able to find ways to explain my value and educate them on getting some reimbursement for my services- which has helped a lot. I want to serve all families, so when it doesn’t work out, it’s disappointing. I’ve worked to change my mindset around this. I know I can’t serve everyone, so I give resources to the ones I can’t and I practice deep gratitude for the families I do get to serve.
Another challenge I faced was starting and running a business as a single Mom of 2 young boys. I’ve been incredibly blessed to have some of my patient’s parents allow my kids to attend a session when I cannot find a babysitter or school is closed. My boys are very motivating for babies, so it’s worked out well when it’s needed to happen! Managing my time and fatigue (emotionally and physically) has been one of my biggest hurdles, which is typical for business owners and parents. I continue to learn how to take time for myself, embrace the extreme joy I feel after each visit, let go of business things during non-business hours, and lean on those close to me when I need help. I’m a work in progress!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, I specialize in treating babies, from newborns to new walkers. I see them at home or in my clinic space. Common diagnoses are torticollis/plagiocephaly, developmental delay, and pre/post tongue tie releases. I offer Mama/Baby Yoga and developmental milestone classes and plan to provide more services and classes in 2023! I love walking alongside families in their new, exciting, exhausting, scary, joyful journey as parents to their babies. I love collaborating with other providers of those babies to ensure the baby is getting the best care possible. I love to listen to parents’ concerns, fears, joys, and questions and cheer them on. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t get a text from a parent showing me a new skill their baby is working on- and it makes my day!
The way I approach my sessions/treatments is one aspect of my care that sets me apart from many providers in the KC area. I look at the baby first through a lens of assessing tension in their body and how regulated their nervous system is. If I have a super fussy baby or a really tense baby who is not tolerating being held, we will only have successful sessions once we first address their tension and nervous system. I do this through my craniosacral/myofascial release/craniosacral fascial work (also called “bodywork” or “energy work”) as well as through exercises parents do at home. Once we work to address these things, magic happens. We see a different, much happier baby who can participate more in sessions and parents who feel much more at ease in knowing what their baby needs.
I’m one of the few pediatric physical therapists in the area who treats babies before and after tongue tie releases. It’s important that their bodies are ready for release and that we work with them after release as they adjust to different tongue functions and release tension throughout the body. This is a team approach (Lactation Consultants, Dentists, Chiropractors, OTs) depending on the patient’s needs, and it’s a joy to be part of a team with these excellent providers. It’s inspiring to watch parents and babies establish much better breastfeeding and bottle-feeding relationships during this process. I also treat the cutest babies in KC. I get the cutest ones every single time!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nurturingtouchkc.com
- Instagram: @nurturingtouchkc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NurturingTouchKC
Image Credits
Kindled Perspective LLC
